Why Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum is special ?

This Archaeological Museum was constructed under the cooperation between the APSARA Authority and SOPHIA University (Tokyo) with the funding from AEON 1% Club (Japan) in order to preserve and exhibit the Buddhist statues discovered at Banteay Kdei temple. We hope that your visiting will be offering you a unique testament about the history of Buddhism during the Angkor period.

The museum is located next to the APSARA Authority Head Office (to the north). The Museum building was constructed in June 2006 and inaugurated on 2nd November 2007 under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath NORODOM SIHAMONI, the King of Cambodia. The Museum is officially named: Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum, and opened to the public on 2 January 2008.

What to explore at Preah Norodom Sihanouk-Angkor Museum?

- Visitors will see the beautiful smiles of the Buddha statues, which seem to speak to us across space and time.

- Learn about Buddhist statues of different periods while tracing the evolution of Khmer art through style and decoration.

- Unearth historical information about Buddhism and Hindu iconoclasm during the Angkor period.

- To see the Pillar of a Thousand Buddhas, the only statue of its type found in Angkor. This pillar is similar to Hindu Pillars of a Thousand Vishnus. The similarities demonstrate the ties between Hinduism and Buddhism in ancient Angkor.

The display includes the selection of artifacts from the sites in Angkor Archaeological Park, such as Banteay Kdei temple, Tani Khmer stoneware kiln site, and prehistoric materials from Koh Ta Meas site under the Western Baray reservoir surface.

Prehistory (Prei Khmeng and Koh Tameas)

From August 2010, the museum has made it possible for the first time to display the prehistoric materials from Prei Khmeng site and the burial site under the Western Baray surface dating from the 3,000 year old carried out by L’Ecol Française d’Extreme Orient (EFEO) and APSARA Authority.

From this exhibition visitors can learn how pottery and the 3,000 year old skeleton found at excavation site.This exhibition also provides an opportunity to raise awareness about the importance and richness of the Pre-Angkorian period.